COXIFEliAr.KS. 



173 



places the (>stii;irv shores are strewn with 

 wmdrows chiefly of tiie detaclied leiives. 

 These deci(hious twigs are also a (•onsideral)le 

 eleniont in th(> foriuation of peat in IIk^ South 

 Atlantic and (iidf States. Every eoiisidcM-ation 

 of distribution and ciiaracter indicates tiiat 

 Taxodhnn dnhiniii was nnich like Td.nidi iim 

 disticJiinii in appeai'ance, structure, and hahil. 

 The similar deciduous foliage, fructilicalion 

 chai'acters, and wood anatomy show that it 

 rcfjuired nuich the same environment as its 

 closely related dcsc<'ndant . The species found 

 with it ami the lack of terrigenous materials in 

 the sediments where it is commonest, as in the 

 diatonuiceous beds of our east coast Miocene, 

 indicate that it dwelt in swamps and was pi'c- 

 emineutly a coastal species. 



It has been found only at the one locality 

 m the Wilcox and it is not especiaUy common. 

 It is also much macerated, which indicates 

 probably a riverside swamp habitat, somewhat 

 removed from the coastal zone. The absence 

 of the cypress at the numerous other Wilcox 

 localities is positive proof that the species was 

 not abundant hi the embayment area during 

 the Eocene. Conditions of topography, rain- 

 fall, and humidity were especiaUy favorable for 

 its extensive devcdopment at this time, and the 

 question aris(>s, Wlij' was it largely absent? It 

 is believed that the only answer to this question 

 is that the temperature was too high for its op- 

 timum conditions of existence. It was likewise 

 absent during the more torrid periods of the 

 Eocene in Europe, as for example the Lutetian 

 of the Paris Basin and the south of England, 

 and at about this time it was common in 

 far northern areas — Alaska, Grimiell Land, 

 Greenland, and Spitzbergen. This is in con- 

 formity with all the paleobotanic and paleo- 

 zoologic facts derived from a study of our 

 southern earlier Tertiary, which indicate an 

 advance of tropical climate northward over 

 many degrees of latitude, pushing warm tem- 

 perate conditions northward well beyond the 

 Arctic Circle. 



A single doubtful fragment of what app<'ai-s 

 to be a twig of this s]>ecies has been found iji 

 the lower ])art of the Claiborne group (St. 

 Maiu'ic.e foimation) of j\j-kansas. Fi-om the 

 Spaniacian of th(> Paiis Basin Fi'itel ' has 

 figured specunens of the dimori)hic Sequoia 

 tournali (Brongniart) Saporta, which in thek 



■Fritel, P. H., Soc. efol. France Mi^m. 4n, pi. 2, figs. 2-r2, 1910. 



general aspect and variation of the broad- 

 leafed forms, strongly suggest Taxodium 

 diihiuni. It may be significant that the reduced 

 foliage associated with the cones is more 

 8cc[uoia-like than the broad-leafed twigs. 



Occurrence. — Lagrange? formation (in beds of 

 Wilcox age), Pinson, Madison Coiuity, T(>nn. 

 (collected by E. W. Berry) . 



Collection. — U. S. National Museum. 



Taxodium sp. 

 rUito XV, fi>nir<' 9. 



Description. — An unmistakable seed of a 

 species of Taxodium oc(-urs in the plastic claj^s 

 of Wilcox age west of Grand Jimotion. It is 

 rather larger than the average seed of the 

 existing Taxodium distichum, measuiing L25 

 centuneters in length by 9.5 millimeters in 

 maximum width. In its irregular form it is 

 not distinguishable from recent seeds of mem- 

 bers of this genus and it is prol:)ably a seed of 

 the same species that is represented by foUage 

 in the deposits near Pinson. 



Occurrence. — Lagrange formation (in beds of 

 Wiloox age), IJ miles west of Grand Jmiction, 

 in Fayette County, Tenn. (collected by E. W. 

 B(>rry). 



Collection. — U. S. National Museum. 



Subfamily TAXODIEiE. 



Genus ARTHROTAXIS Don. 



Arthrotaxis (?) EOLiGNiTicA Berry, n. sp. 



Plate XV, figures 1 and 2. 



Description. — Cone scale small, rhomboidal 

 in cross si-otion, ligneous, with a rounded keel 

 or lower (morphologically dorsal) angle, and a 

 thick base, expanding regularly outward to 

 the enlarged truncate tip. Lateral outlines 

 straight. Costate; ribs well shown in the fig- 

 m-ed specimens. Length about 1 centimeter or 

 slightly less. Diameter at the base about 2 

 millimeters, across the expanded apex about 6 

 millimeters; wider than high and flattened on 

 upper (ventral) side, hidii^atuig that the scal(>s 

 were ascending and slightly unbricated. 



These well-marked cone scales are not un- 

 common m the clays at Puiyear, Tenn. They 

 do not suggest any of the modern conifers that 

 bear deciduous scales, but on the other hand 

 they strongly suggest certain Cretac(>ous coni- 

 fers such as Gemitzia, Sphenolepis, and Arthro- 

 taxopsis, all of which I have recently handled 



